Gasifier and burner



Jan. 14, 1947.

' G. L. REICHHELM GASIFIEIR AND BURNER Filed Sept. '17; 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 17, 1940 Jan. 14, 1947.

cs. 1.. REICHHELM GASIFIER AND BURNER- Filed Sept. 17, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Jan. 14, 1947 to The Oil-Gas Combustion Company, New Haven, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Application September 17, 1940, Serial No. 357,091

2 Claim.

This invention relates to an oil-gas burner, and more particularly to a device adapted to employ a relatively cheap fuel such as fuel oil, for example, and convert this fuel into an inflammable gas which will be burned with a high degree of efliciency. While the device as shown comprises a burner by which the fuel is consumed, it will also be understood that certain features of the invention are also applicable to a device for the production of a gaseous fuel or combustible gas from a liquid fuel, and-supplying this gas at a remote point for consumption at that point. IYhat is, the principles of invention may be applied, for example, to a so-called gasifier, or maybe employed in a combined gasifier and burner such as is disclosed in the present application. l

In devices of the character contemplated in the present application, it is usually necessary to ignite a certain quantity of the fuel (usually a small quantity as compared to that employed when the device is in full operation), and use the heat generated by the consumption of this initial quantity of fuel to bring the combustion chamber to a sufficiently high temperature for efiicient operation. The period of time required for the ignition and the generation of suflicient operating heat in the combustion chamber has in some instances been so great as to result in a vantage, and resulted in a certain amount of delay before the burner could be placed in oper ation. In addition, some prior devices failed to give satisfaction in that they did not operate efficiently, as they could not supply an amount of heat near the theoretical amount contained in the fuel consumed. 7

One object of the present invention is to provide a device for :gasifying and then burning -a liquid fuel which may be placed into operation more expeditiously than prior devices of this kind.

Afurther object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described inwhich a small quantity of the fuel-is burned in the pres ence of the remainder in order to gasify the rest of the fuel and transform it into a combusti'bl gas, which gas may also be burned in a very eflicient manner.

-A still further object of the invention is to provide a combined gasifier and burner which may be of relatively simple construction and relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and at the same time'will be efl'icient:in operation, and readily controlled to burn efiiclently either a large or small amount of fuel.

A still furtherobject of the invention isto .provide a combined gasifier and burner having a single control by which may be effected thestarting of the burner, as well as the regulation thereof after the burner is placed in operation.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a highly efiicient device for gasifying a liquid fuel, and a highly efiicient burner for burning the fuel so gasified so that the greatest possible amount of heat is secured from the fuel consumed. V

To these and other ends'the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings: I

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a gasifier and burner embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the device partly in section to show the interior mechanism; 1

Fig. 3 is aisectional view on line 3-'3 of Fig. .2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 4- of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is aside elevational view of certain parts of the control mechanism;

6 is .a sectional view (m me 6'6 of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but showing the parts in another position;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view of the burner head;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view on line '9-9 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a sectional View on line l'llll 0 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 is asec'tiona'l view showing a modified form of burner head; and I Fig. '12 is a front view of the burner head shown in Fig. 11.

To illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention, I have shown a combined gasifier' and burner comprising a base l0, upon which are supported .a blower 'II, and a motor 12 which is employed to drive the'blowr. The outlet of the blower is shown at I3 and communicates with a passage I in a control block 15 from which a casing 16 leads to the burner head designated generally by the numeral I].

The burner head comprises a base portion l3, a wall or casing T9 of substantially cylindrical shape having a forwardly "attending frustoconical end portion 20, and a rot-ward 'baflle plate 2| provided with a projecting centrally disposed boss 22. The base l8 of the head is provided with a centrally disposed opening within which is mounted an "air nozzle '23, this nozzle being surrounded byaflange or sleeve 24 whichrlts over the tube It so that air is carriedfrom the tube through which flame and combustible gas pass outwardly into the tapered portion of the head.

Also mounted within the burner head is an electrical heating element 39 designed to be heated to incandescence by current supplied thereto through the wire-carrying cable 3L Partially embracing the heating element 30 is a shield 32 which extends substantially the full length of the heating element and issubstantially semi-cylindrical in shape, so that fuel supplied through the pipe may be deposited thereon t be vaporized by the heat from the heating element, as will be explained hereinafter.

The oil pipe 25 extends rearwardl into the member I5, and, as'shown moreespecially in Fig. 3, is there in communication with a transverse passage 34, the communication being controlled by the needle valve 35 so that the quantity of oil delivered to the pipe 25 maybe regulated. Oil is delivered to the passage 34 by a pipe 36, which leads rearwardly to a constant level oil chamber 31 mounted rearwardly of the motor, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Air under pressure is delivered to the oil chamber 51 by means of a pipe 38, so that the oil from-the chamber will be forced into the burner under a certain amount of pressure,

'The control of the air to the burner in its sage 44 is controlled by the valve 49, having a stem 50 projecting from the member I5, upon which stem is mounted a spring 5| which nor mally urges the valve toward the right, as shown in Fig. 4, so that the communication between the passage 41 and passage 46 will be open when the spring is permitted to act.

The action of this spring is, however, overcome by that of a spring 52 which bears, against the 7 end of the stem 50, and which is secured on an arm 53 secured to the pivot 54 of the butterfly 'valve 40, the arm 53 serving to control the position of the butterfly valve, as will be hereinafter explained. In the position of the parts shown in Fig. 4, the spring 52 overcomes the spring 5|, so as to maintain the valve 49 toward the left, in which position communication from the passage 45 to the passage 41 will be closed, but will be open between the passage 46 and the passage 45, which communicates with the rear end of the passage 44. In other words, in the position of the parts shown in Fig. 4, the passage 45 and tube 58 will receive air through the U-shaped tube 4|, which air is lay-passed about the butterfly valve 49. When the butterfly valve is open, the spring 52 will be swung away from stem 55, and permit the spring 5| to throw the valve 45 to the right, and thus open communication between the tube 48 and passage 45 through the passage 41, and close communication between the passage 46 and passage 45.

As shown more particularly in Figs. 8 and 9, the oil tube 25 which leads into the burner head I1 is provided with a plurality of pointed prongs 55. While the number of these prongs may be varied, eight are shown in the drawings, which are equally spaced. The angle which the prongs various stages of operation will now be described. As stated, the outlet of the blower II is shown at I3, the communication between this outlet and the passage I4 being controlled by a butterfly valve 49, which,. as will be hereinafter explained, is not opened until after the burner has been lighted. In order to supply a certain amount of air to the burner, and also to supply air to the pipe tutu effect the delivery of fuel to the burner before the opening of the butterfly valve, a U-shaped by-pass'tube 4| leads from the "outlet I3 of the blower to a passage 42 in the member I5, from which passage a pipe 43 leads to the annular passage 26 from which the outlets 21 deliver jets of air in a forward and downward direction within the casing I9 of the burner head.

As shown more especially in Figs. 3 and 4, the member I5 is provided with an air passage 44 in communication with the passage 42 through a port 45, and also in communication with an L-shaped passage 46 which leads to the pipe 58. The passage 44 (Fig. 4) extends forwardly beyond the passage 46, and the forward extension thereof communicates through apassage 41 with a tube 48, which tube has a free end terminating in. the passage I4 of member I5 and facing rearwardly toward the air supply past the butterfly valve 49. It will be apparent, therefore, that one .end'of the passage 44 ,receives air from the U-shaped tube 4|, while the other end of this passage receives air through the tube 49 in the air passage I4, so that the passage and tube 58 may be supplied from either end of the passage 44. The communication between the. passage 45 and pasmake with the axis of the tube may be varied so as to cause the spray of oil delivered through the tube to be more or less divergent, as desired; The angle at which the prongs are set and the number thereof will be dependent upon the viscosity of the oil, and with the number and character of concentric zones of air and finely divided oil particles which is desired, as will be explained hereinafter, and the angle of the prongs is also dependent upon the velocity and pressure of the air supply.

The current to the motor is supplied through the cable 51, and the supply of current to the cables 3 I and 51 is controlled from the supply line 58 by means of switches 59 and 50 pivoted at GI and 52 to a supporting plate 53, the switch member '69 being urged upwardly, as shown in Fig. '7,

which slide is'provided with guide slots '66 to' receive pins 61 secured to the plate. The control slide 65 is operated by a'manually engageable member 68 carrying'a pointer or index 59 to cooperate with indicia 10 on the plate 11, so that the position of the slide 65 may be known to the operator at all times. d The switch members 59 and 60 are provided with pins 12 and 13, respectively, which ride in a cam slot, in the controlslide 55; This slot, as shown more especially in Figs, 5 and '1, comprises a lower horizontally disposed end portion 14,'an inclined portion 15, a second upper horizontally disposed portion 16', and a relatively wide hori- Zontally disposed portion 11, which cam slot controls the positions of the switch members 59 and 50 according to the position of the slide, as will be hereinafter explained. fl

the valve Secured to the slide 65 by means of the member I9 is a control member 88 for the control'arm 53 of the butterfly valve 48. The member 80 is provided with stepped surfaces 8| and 82 between which is a recess 83 designed to receive a pin 84 on the arm 53, whereby movement of the slide 65 will also control th position of the arm 53.

The control of the burner through the various stages of operation may now be described. When the burner is out of operation the member 68 will be opposite the off position on the plate 7|, this member passing through the slot 85 in the plate to be connected with the slide 65. In this position of the parts the pins I2 and I3 willboth lie in the horizontal portion I4 of the cam slot in the slide 65, in which position both switch members will be held downwardly, which is'the ofi position of the switches, so that cur rent will be supplied neither to the heating element 38 nor to the motor. In order to place the burner in operation the member 68 is first moved to the heating position shown in Fig. 1. In this position of the slide the pin I2 will be moved up the incline IE to the portion "I5 of the cam slot, which will raise the corresponding end of the switch member 59 about its pivot and deliver current to the heating element 38. The pin -I3 will still remain in the horizontal cam slot I4, so that the position of the switch element 68 has not been changed. The control element 68 is left in this position until the heating element is incandescent and has had time to heat the shield 32 surrounding the heating element, which, however, will require only a very short time, whereupon the member 68 is moved to the right in the slot 85 to the light position, which is the position shown in Figs. 1 and 5. Both of the pins I2 and I3 ar now in the portion I6 of the cam slot of the slide 65, so that both switch members 59 and 60 are in their upper or operative positions, delivering current to the heating element and also to the motor I2, so that the motor and blower are placed in operation.

During the preceding movements of the slide 65, the pin 84 has ridden upon the surface 8| of the control member 80, so that the position of the butterfly valve has not been affected, the valve remaining closed. Therefore, at this time, although th blower is in operation, no air passes the butterfly valve into the passage l4. However, air does pass from the outlet l3 of the blower through the tube 4| and through the passage 45 into the passage 44, and thence past th valve 49 into the passage 46, and through the tube 38 to the oil chamber 37, so that oil is delivered through tubes 36 and 25 to the burner. As the air passing through the by-pass tube 4 |is relatively small in amount, only a small quantity of oil will be delivered to the burner.

A part of the air passing through the tube 4| will also b carried by the tube 43 to the annular chamber 28, from which it will be delivered through the jets 2I downwardly across the oil spray from the tube 25, so as to blow this spray upon the shield 32. As this shield has been heated by the heating element 38, the sprayed oil is vaporized, and the vaporized oil, coming in contact with the heating element, becomes ignited.

As soon as the oil is ignited the member 68 is moved to a further position to the right in the slot 85, in which position both of thepins I2 and 13 of the switch members lie in the enlarged portion 11 of the cam slot. The switch member'- 59 immediately drcps to its lower position byits own weight, thus cutting on current to the heating element; as this element. is no longer needed after the oil is once ignited in the burner head. The switch member 60 is, however, held in its upper or operative position by the spring 64, so that current is still carried to the motor. This position of the parts is shown in Fig. '7, and as will be seen, the member has been moved to theright, and the pin 84 on the control member 53', moving into the slot 83, has carried the arm- 53 to the right, and thus opened the butterfly valvellli to permit air to pass from the outlet 13 of the blower to the passage IA. The degree of opening of the valve will, of course, depend on the amount the slide 85 is moved toward the right, depending upon whether the operator desires the burner tlo operate at a low, medium or high heat, as indicated by the letters L, M and H (Fig. 1).

The air delivered from the motor will now pass through the passages M and IS and the air nozzle 23 about the pipe 25,and will no longer pass through the by-pass tube 4|, and will, of course, by reason of the fact that the valve 49 is moved rearwardly, be prevented from entering the passage 45. The air in the passage M will, however, be caught by the tube 48 and be delivered to the passage 41, and thence through passag 46 and pipe 38 to the oil chamber 31, to force file] through the pipe '25 in direct proportion to the opening of the valve 40, so that the correct proportions of air and oil will be maintained regardless of the position of the butterfly valve.

It will be apparent that during the initial lighting stage of the burner only a small quantity of oil will be delivered through the pipe 25, and

that this oil will be sprayed oif of the prongs 55 I by air jets through the passages 21 directly upon the shield 32, to effect the vaporization of the oil and its ignition by contact of the vapor with the incandescent heating element 38. A flame will then be present in the combustion chamber within the casing l9, which will tend to heat the baflle plate 2|. Thereafter when the butterfly valve is opened by movement of the control slide 65, and increased quantities of oil and air delivered to the combustion chamber, these products will assume the form shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. There will be, upon the outside of the column of oil and air, finely divided oil particles sprayed from the prongs 55, which will be mixed with or in contact with the surrounding air. From the outside to the inside of the stream will be concentric zones of diiferent degrees of saturation, the inner zones containing air and progressively larger particles of oil. The outer zone containing the finer atomized oil will be ignited either by the flame within the chamber 9 or by contact with the heated bafile plate 2|, and therefore there will be created an outer zone of flame surrounding the inner zones of mixed, more or less finely divided fuel and air. This outer zone of flame will contribute enough heat to the bafile plate 2| so that the fuel in the inner zones of the column of fuel and air, when striking this plate, will be vaporized and will change their direction, tending to pass outwardly through the openings 28. These particles will, therefore, pass through the outer zone of flame and will become completely gasified. I

This gasified fuel, together with the products of combustion and flame, will pass outwardly through the openings 28, some of this fuel burning in the'forward portion 20 0f the chamber I'I 'bulence to the fuel.

andimparting heat to the'member 22, which will conduct heat to the .baflleplate to counteract the cooling effect of the'vaporization of the large droplets of fuel impinging thereon. The remainder of the gasified fuel will burn inthe atmosphere forwardly of the burner head I! in the form of my invention shown. If desired, this gasified fuel may, of course, be carried to a remote point for consumption. 1

In Figs. 11 and 12 of the drawings I have shown a modified form of burner head at 90, which is placed at the front end of the casing 19*, which corresponds to the casing IQ of Fig. 2. The head 90 is provided with a plurality of ports 9| leading to spirally arranged vanes. 92 to impart tur- Mounted' centrally of the vanes is a flame spreader comprising a cylindrical base portion 93 and a flaring upper end 94. Vanous constructions of flame outlets may be employed, depending upon the application to which the burner is put, the two modifications shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 11 being merely illustrative.

While I have shown and described some preferred embodiments of my invention, it will be understood that it is'not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the: scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is: 1. In a device for1gasifyingoil, a chamber, an ignition element in the chamber, a baflle plate adjacent the' forward end'ofithe chamber, an'oil supply tube leading into the chamber and having its outlet directed toward the rear surface of said bafile plate, nozzle means to deliver a supply of air to the chamber, said nozzle having passages directed across said tube outlet and toward said ignition element, means to cut off said air supply, additional air-discharge means having an outlet surrounding said tube outlet and directed generally toward said baliie plate, and outlet means for the chamber adjacent the periphery of the baffle plate.

- 2. In a device for gasifying oil, a chamber, an ignition element in the chamber, a baffle plate adjacent the forward end of the chamber, :an

oil supply tube leading into the chamber and have ing its outlet directedtowardthe rear surface of the bafile plate adjacent the central portion of the latter, air blast means directed across. said supply tube outlet to deflect the oil from said outlet toward said ignition element to be ignited thereby, means to cut off the air from said blast means and an air tube leading into the chamber around the oil tube and having an outlet directed toward the rear surface of the baflie plate around the discharge thereupon from the oil supply tube, said baffle plate having outlet openings therein adjacent its periphery and beyond the area upon which said oil and air are directed.

GEORGE L. lEtEICHHELM. 

